Twenty-Seven Years

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Last week we celebrated our twenty-seventh wedding anniversary.

Twenty-seven years.

I might as well resign myself to the fact that we are no longer young.

However, for two not-quite-old-but-no-longer-young people, we managed to have a very good time. My parents offered to have the kids spend Friday night at their house and we decided to check into a hotel near them. Since we only had twenty-four hours it didn't make sense to spend four of those hours driving back and forth between our house and my parents' house. So we dropped the kids off, went out to eat, and then went to a bookstore. Because what else would you do on your anniversary? My husband is a good and patient man. I didn't actually buy any books because I didn't come across anything I just had to have and I don't really buy books I can easily get at the library. But it is always nice to browse.

The next day we went out for breakfast and then for a walk on the rail trail. It was a gorgeous, sunny day. We used to walk this trail all the time when the kids were little and we lived in the area. Sometimes I miss having little kids.

We also stopped at a little park in the area and sat in the sunshine reading the newspaper and eating snacks. It was quiet and relaxing and exactly what we needed.

Then we went back to my parent's house for dinner. The kids were only moderately happy to see us since they felt one day was not enough time to squeeze in all the things they wanted to do. That's okay though. We felt the same way.

It wasn't an exciting anniversary. We didn't do anything amazingly special or go anywhere exotic. We puttered around doing things we have done a hundred times before. But, really, that is what made it special. After twenty-seven years we have the memories, the traditions, and the routines that we have built together.

And after twenty-seven years we are just happy to be together, browsing through a bookstore, walking a trail, and eating ice cream in bed.

The fact that we still feel that way after twenty-seven years is special enough for me.

You might have been describing our twenty-eighth, which we celebrated last month. Except we didn't make it to the book store. :-( Your bookstore browsing experience is very similar to mine. I just love to look at all those new books and get ideas for my library list.

Congratulations on 27 well-spent years, and a wonderful relationship with your husband. I know that it is a source of deep joy.

Happy Anniversary! It sounds and looks like you had a perfect time. I don't but books I can borrow from the library too. I still miss my little kids, and teenagers. They're 31 and 30 now, but we've been married 41 years which makes us sound ancient - and I suppose we must be, but we don't feel it!

That is an impressive length of time to be married-and if you don't feel old then obviously you can't be old. That is what I tell myself anyway. People always say that kids grow up so fast but it didn't always feel that when when we were living in the moments. But, all of a sudden, our son is 17 and we are wondering what happened to the little kid who used to sit on the floor and play with Thomas the Tank Engine.

That sounds like just the sort of "date" I enjoy. When we were dating, my husband and I used to go through antique stores for fun. Not buy stuff, usually, just look at all the things and talk about them. Good times.

I also try not to buy books I could get from the library. Unless I love them and must bind them unto my heart with hoops of steel. Or unless I think I might want to read them at the drop of the hat. This happens. Also, I have the not-entirely-unreasonable expectation that we might one day move Really Far Away to a foreign country where I couldn't have access to the books I love, and so sometimes I buy books just in case.